James Harold Lauderdale

James Harold Lauderdale passed into the arms of our Lord at the age of 91 on the morning of March 2, 2026. He lived most of his adult life in Mesquite and Seagoville, Texas after discharge from the U.S. Navy in December of 1955.

James was preceded in death by his wife of almost 60 years, Wilma LaRue Lauderdale, and by his parents and two brothers and a sister. James is survived by his daughter Janet and her husband Tom of 40-plus years, and they both greatly miss James. He is also survived by a sister and cousins who have good lifelong memories of him. There are also many nephews and nieces with fond memories of James, aka their Uncle Harold.

When the U.S. Navy said “Join the Navy and See the World,” James joined at the age of 17 and did see the world. He then worked for 30 years with the Dallas Police Department, which included many years as a Sergeant. He was very proud to have served in the Navy and DPD.

Following his retirement from DPD, he had a second 30-year career doing polygraph, security and investigative work. He was a skilled investigator and interrogator and enjoyed those roles. Remarkably, some people just seemed to want to confess their crimes to him.

Many remember his smile and laugh and intense enjoyment of games, such as Sequence and the dominoes game 42. He was also memorable for his dislike of losing! He was serious when he played games. A favorite saying of his when a fellow player’s attention would drift off was to say, “You promised to play when you sat down here!”

He was a great and loving Daddy, and it was an honor to be related to him. Harold/James/Jim is now in Heaven and catching up with his wife on all that’s happened since she departed this Earth. And, of course, he’s playing with his beloved dog Champ again.

The visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on May 19, 2026 in the Roselawn Funeral Home at 1000 S. U.S. Hwy. 175 in Seagoville, TX. The Funeral Service will be at 10:45 a.m. that day at the Funeral Home. Interment will follow in Roselawn Memorial Gardens adjacent to the Funeral Home. After interment, there will be a luncheon at the Emmanuel Pentecostal Church at 1200 Poplar Dr. Mesquite, TX 75149.